Importance of biosecurity

A breach in biosecurity remains the biggest threat to PNG’s poultry industry, says Stan Leahy, the Poultry Industry Association treasurer.
“In recent years, we’ve seen illegal products from places like China, coming into PNG,” he said.
“We need the Government to address the issue with urgency before we have something that’s very serious, and expensive to control hit us.”
Leahy said the industry had seen a lot of growth, currently making up the biggest chunk of the small-to-medium enterprise (SME) sector.
He, however, said working with the Government to strengthen PNG’s biosecurity had been the biggest challenge.
He said a bird-flu outbreak would be potentially catastrophic for the industry.
“The industry is heavily concentrated in Morobe and an outbreak would have tens of millions of kina worth of consequences, not only for the major producers but also for the tens of thousands of smallholder farmers who rely on the industry,” he said.
“Half the birds hatched every week go to smallholder farmers in the country; they rely on our stringent biosecurity.
“As what’s happening in Australia right now is something that’s so important for us to get ours right.
“Our neighbours Fiji, Australia and New Zealand have all enforced stringent biosecurity protocols to protect their farmers from foreign diseases.
“We need the government to do the same.”
“This industry is one of the largest SME sectors in this country and the reason for its success is because we are relatively disease-free, making it easy for people to get involved in smallholder poultry.”